Vanilla Restaurant — Restaurant in Muratpaşa

I had high expectations for Vanilla based on glowing reviews and attractive food photos. I made a reservation for two and arrived on time. The restaurant was quiet, and the initial service seemed promising. I ordered garlic prawns and grilled octopus as starters, followed by sea bream and stone bass for the main course.

While the main dishes were acceptable, the appetizers—and the events that followed—completely derailed the experience.

Let’s start with the so-called "garlic prawns." What arrived at the table were not prawns but a few tiny shrimp hidden under a pile of vegetables. Perhaps the definition of "prawns" is different in Türkiye, but this was misleading at best. I let it slide without raising a fuss—mistakes happen, and not everything needs to be perfect.

But then came the grilled octopus—the supposed star of the night. One bite was enough to tell it had been over-boiled and then overcooked on the grill. It was rubbery, chewy, and inedible. I cook octopus myself, and I know exactly how it should be prepared. When I asked the waiter to take it back, his response was: “I can’t take anything from the table.” Moments later, he returned with the baffling message: “We tasted the octopus and didn’t find anything wrong with it.”

That response was not just dismissive—it was infuriating. I told the waiter, point-blank, that if the chef truly believes that rubbery mess is acceptable, either he has never tasted properly cooked octopus or he is being dishonest. Either way, this is unacceptable for a restaurant that presents itself as high-end.

Eventually, the waiter offered to prepare another octopus. I declined, explaining that the problem wasn’t that particular piece—it was the batch. Octopus is usually pre-boiled in advance and then grilled to order. If the one I had was overcooked, the rest in the fridge likely were too. Offering another from the same batch was pointless.

Still, they insisted on charging me for this clearly subpar dish. Only after I firmly expressed my frustration to the manager did they finally remove it from the bill. By then, the evening was already ruined. This wasn’t about the 35-dollar charge—it was about principle.

Restaurants need to understand a basic truth: “The customer is always right—especially when they are right.” When a guest finds a dish unacceptable, there are only two proper responses:

Offer an alternative dish.

If the customer declines, remove it from the bill.

That’s it. Instead, Vanilla chose to argue, deflect, and insult my intelligence.

I won’t be returning—and I won’t even walk past this...

EXTREMELY UNHAPPY with how we were treated. The evening started great with great drinks and attentive service. My boyfriend and I ordered the prawns which were tasty to start and the short rib for main. When the short rib arrived we both realised that 70% of what was on the plate was inedible fat from the meat. I understand short rib is a fatty cut, however, this was not worth paying the equivalent of £24 for only three bites of actual meat (I should say my cut was better than his and was about 50/50). When we brought this up to the server he began to lecture us and say we clearly don’t know how it is meant to come, because this is normal. After I ate what I could and my boyfriend left his plate because he did not see the point and did not want to pay for his dish, the waiter continued to lecture us. He said I will take it off and you can go inside to pay. So my boyfriend went inside where instead of paying, the head chef tells him I will not allow you to leave. You either pay for the short rib or you can buy another main meal. His main reasoning was that I had said “my food was fine and ate all of it” (I didn’t), and that there was no reason for my boyfriend to feel different. Both me and my boyfriend are waiters in England and NEVER have we seen treatment of customers like this.

I must give credit where it was due and after our server had realised it was unfair to keep us just to lecture us he took our payment and let us leave.

Overall it was a heavily tainted experience. Don’t order the short rib if you want to feel full and satisfied, and definitely don’t complain about anything because you will be met with a full on debate with the entire...

Top notch food and service. We went here for a late lunch on a weekday afternoon and were lucky to get seating- considering the crowd they usually bring in!

The seating is press out across and is very comfortable and spacious, the vibe is lovely and relaxed .

You can see the true focus on presentation , taste and quantity of the food they prepare .

we got complimentary bread served with olive oil and balsamic which was a wonderful start to the meal.

We tried their guacamole , it was tangy and refreshing.

For mains we orders the salmon poke- it was intriguing , the flavours were complimentary , quantity was perfect and filling and the salmon was well cooked.

The salmon and octopus spaghetti was a bit of a let down, there was a single piece of seafood in the entire dish and the flavour was slightly underwhelming.

The mushroom risotto was very enjoyable- creamy and rich, one of our favourites of the meal.

The Turkish sausage pizza was hearty and filling as well, plenty of topping and perfect flavour.

We ended the meal on a sweet note with their signature poached pair- ve try innovative and delicious, the deep sweetness of the pao was complimented with fresh cream .

The prices are a little steeper but justified by the quality:

Overall one of our favourite meals in Antalya, will...